CRIF Offers Support With Auditing Supplier Chains

It’s a fact of modern business life that insurance brands are required to audit their supplier/investment chains as regards their ESG rating, climate change and Net Zero commitments etc. It’s a set of regulations which is likely to become more onerous if Labour or a Labour-SNP coalition administration takes over late 2024, so it makes sense to automate as much of the auditing admin as possible – plus make sure the benchmarks and standards are up to date with the EU, US or other key markets.

Here’s the word from one specialist company active in this field, CRIF;

UK businesses, lenders and insurers will be able to assess the sustainability of their entire supply chain with greater confidence through the launch a new environmental, social, and governance (ESG) solution. Synesgy from CRIF, Europe’s leading provider of digital transformation solutions for the financial services industry, will allow business to easily audit suppliers, enabling them to collect and view ESG reports, and view the sustainability ratings of the other businesses that they work with.  

Understanding the environmental impacts of entire supply chains has become more critical, as more focus is put on scope 3 emissions (a company’s indirect emissions across its value chain), and research showing investments held by the UK’s biggest banks and investors emit 805 million tonnes of carbon per year, almost double the UK’s domestic emissions.  

While financial services firms have been expanding and accelerating their sustainable finance efforts, investors, analysts, regulators and the media are now looking for more detailed and reliable ESG data and disclosures. Businesses are now expected to provide more detailed and comprehensive ESG disclosures. 

To support this, CRIF developed Synesgy to collect and process relevant data for customers in banking and finance, insurance and enterprise. With Synesgy, companies can: 

·        Evaluate how sustainable their supply chain is and benchmark it against sector performance.   

·        Utilise the service to inform decision-making in the procurement process. 

·        Prevent operational and reputational risks while identifying areas for future improvement. 

·        Use ESG data and results to demonstrate a healthier financial status and lower risk 

·        Boost transparency with ESG ratings displayed on websites, emails and other channels. 

Sara Costantini, CRIF’s Regional Director for the UK & Ireland, said:  

“At CRIF, our objective is to help business navigate the complex world of ESG by utilising data and insights. Through this, we’re helping more businesses to put ESG at the heart of their work, and we’re empowering them to play their part in charting a path towards a more sustainable future.” 

As the European Commission officially adopts the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, any business outside the bloc will need to adhere to these standards if it wants do business within the EU. CRIF’s solution incorporates these latest standards and help ensure all UK businesses that want to conduct business within the EU are fully compliant.  

Synesgy is based on rigorous references of global ESG market regulations. The reporting data obtained from the questionnaires is checked by an alert system on the platform. If inaccuracies are detected the system reports the problem for evaluation where additional information can be requested, ensuring all data is correct and reflects an accurate picture of the companies. 

The launch in the UK expands Synesgy’s availability around the world, where over 250,000 companies, including 350 banks and insurers, already utilise the service in more than 60 countries, as it helps to set an international standard in corporate sustainability.